Seven things you need to know about the “GHOST” vulnerability

(The Hosting News) – Another vulnerability shocked the Linux world on 27th January. The Qualys security research team found a critical vulnerability in the Linux GNU C Library (glibc) that allows attackers to remotely take control of an entire system without having any prior knowledge of system credentials – according to Qualys reports.

What does it mean for you as an Internet user and what does it mean for Linux system administrators? Was it really a shocking event? Here’s everything you need to know.

1. What is “GHOST”?

“GHOST” is the name of a vulnerability recently found in one of the key components of Linux systems. The component is the Linux GNU C Library that is used by all Linux programs. The vulnerability has been found in a function of this library that is used to convert Internet host names to Internet addresses.